NASCAR is getting into a brand new period with the return of “The Chase” championship format this season. Insiders imagine Joey Logano is surprisingly well-equipped to adapt, however lingering considerations stay about whether or not the No. 22 Workforce Penske Ford group can persistently contend on the sport’s highest degree.
These considerations had been specified by the most recent episode of The Teardown, the place Jeff Gluck and Jordan Bianchi evaluated Penske’s inside efficiency hole, and what all of it means for Logano getting into 2026.
First, Gluck mentioned Logano and crew chief Paul Wolfe are prone to deal with the revised postseason higher than many count on. He famous their power has all the time been in preparation and maximizing outcomes, even when outright pace is missing.
“I feel Logano will do a greater job adjusting to this new format than folks understand,” Gluck mentioned. “They’ll go to work. They’ll maximize what they’ll.”
Nonetheless, Gluck stopped in need of calling Logano a championship favourite, and even close to the highest choices. Whereas he expects the No. 22 to be increased within the standings than critics anticipate, he believes Penske should elevate its total consistency to the extent of Hendrick Motorsports and Joe Gibbs Racing to significantly problem for titles.
Bianchi agreed, pointing to what he described as a “gulf” contained in the Penske group, notably in terms of Ryan Blaney’s No. 12 group and the remainder of the secure.
“There’s such a disconnect between what the No. 12 group is ready to do most weeks and what their teammates are in a position to do,” Bianchi mentioned. “Why does that gulf exist, who is aware of?”
Whereas Bianchi expects Logano to win a race or two and make the playoffs with out subject, he’s skeptical about his sustained dominance. Logano’s current common finishes, 15.3 in 2025, 17.1 in 2024 and 14.9 in 2023, mirror a driver who grinds out outcomes moderately than overwhelms the sphere.
“That’s not going to chop it,” Bianchi mentioned bluntly. “It is advisable to be prime 5 and prime 10 frequently,” which Logano hasn’t achieved.
Alas, that critique comes regardless of Logano’s résumé. The 35-year-old completed seventh within the 2025 standings regardless of only one win and has positioned within the prime 10 of the ultimate standings seven occasions previously eight seasons.
He captured his most up-to-date championship in 2024. Now, he enters 2026 chasing a fourth profession title below a brand new playoff construction that rewards season-long consistency over elimination rounds.
Nonetheless, Logano has made it clear format adjustments don’t concern him: “Simply inform me the foundations, after which we gotta go work out a option to win,” he mentioned beforehand.
With 37 profession wins, a Daytona 500 victory and 609 Cup Collection begins, Logano’s pedigree is unquestioned. However as insiders see it, the problem in 2026 gained’t be adaptability, will probably be whether or not Penske can shut the interior and organizational gaps wanted to show reliability into true rivalry for the No. 22 group.
